And lots of money. Minnesota is building a new sports stadium in Minneapolis to replace the current Metrodome. This will be an open-air facility reminiscent of the old Metropolitan stadium where I watched the Vikings and Twins in the 1960s. In those days when it rained, the turf became muddy. No longer.

Twenty inches of water per hour??? This is Minneapolis, not Bangladesh - I think this is overengineered, but it's presumably considered necessary to protect the $100 million knees of the athletes. I'm not angry, and I love sports, but sometimes I get curmudgeonly about the business aspects of the games.

I presume the President already has emergency control of other communications systems, including television, radio, and telephone. He and the military probably have control of most satellite systems. Now a bill before Congress offers additional powers:

The Senate Commerce Committee says this bill is necessary and non-threatening:

This particular legislative language is based on longstanding statutory authorities for wartime use of communications networks. To be very clear, the Rockefeller-Snowe bill will not empower a "government shutdown or takeover of the Internet" and any suggestion otherwise is misleading and false. The purpose of this language is to clarify how the president directs the public-private response to a crisis, secure our economy and safeguard our financial networks, protect the American people, their privacy and civil liberties, and coordinate the government's response.

The image above has apparently been circulating by emails for the past year. Yesterday was the first time I'd seen it, but I suppose some friends/acquaintances will eventually forward it to me. That's why I was glad to see the explanation at a Reddit thread.

The image shows (note: "Hussein") Obama holding "The Post-American World," described as "a Muslim's view of a defeated America."

The email claims veracity by citing the photo's confirmation by Snopes. What they don't offer is Snopes' analysis that the photo is in fact real, but the book, despite its title, is not referring to a "defeated America" (it's about the rise of other countries, with an optimistic view of the coming century, and a prediction that America will stay strong.)

Properly defined, "simony" is an ecclesiastical crime, but in modern parlance the term has been applied more widely. It originally referred to the buying/selling of holy offices of the church.

In ancient times, practitioners of simony were condemned to Dante's eighth circle of Hell. In our era, they become President of the United States.

Ambassadorships have always been offered to campaign donors. I had hoped that Obama would break from this tradition, and we commended him on his choice for ambassador to China. Now there are suggestions that we may be dealing with "the new boss, same as the old boss"...

President Obama said he would try to reduce the number of non-career appointees as U.S. envoys abroad. But the majority of his picks so far have been wealthy donors such as Minneapolis attorney Sam Kaplan. The prominent DFL fundraiser, together with his wife, Sylvia, bundled or collected more than $100,000 for Obama's record-breaking presidential campaign.

Another is Boston lawyer Barry White, a major Obama donor recently named ambassador to Norway, replacing Minnesota native Ben Whitney -- a fundraising "pioneer" ($100,000-plus) for former President George W. Bush…

Two foreign service groups -- the American Academy of Diplomacy and the American Foreign Service Association -- are urging the administration fill no more than 10 percent of its 184 diplomatic postings with noncareer ambassadors…

Humans have used insects for decoration since ancient times. The red dyes favored by European nobility track back to the Aztec discovery that cochineal could be harvested from scale insects on cacti. Another scale insect - Kermococcus vermilius - was used so extensively that its name is probably the root for both "carmine" and "vermiliion."

The ceiling depicted above is contemporary, created by applying the wing coverings of jewel beetles to the surface:

This incredible ceiling art - known as Heaven Of Delight - can be found at the Royal Palace in Brussels and was the brainchild of controversial Flemish artist Jan Fabre, a man renowned for working with strange media including blood, sperm and all manner of insects. Apparently it took Fabre's team of around 30 people 4 months just to glue the beetle shells to the ceiling.

On a related matter, here's some information on the manufacture of shellac from lac scales:

Shellac has been used since 1200 BC and is made from an insect called the lac scale. The lac scale is a native of India and Burma and its host plant is related to the fig trees. The word lac is derived from the Sanskrit word, laksha which means 100,000 and refers to the large number of the minute insects required to produce lac. All female scale insects are wingless and the lac females cover their bodies with a resinous secretion. The resin hardens into a shield. Because the lac insect is sedentary, densities on branches can become very high. Branches on the host tree that become highly coated with the resin are referred to as a stick lac.

The stick lac is ground up to free the lac granules that are crushed and boiled in water. The lac floats to the surface of the water and is skimmed from the surface and dried in the sun. After the lac is dried, it is placed in burlap bags and stretched over a fire. As it is heated, the bags are twisted and the melted lac drips out. Before the lac hardens it is stretched like toffee. After the lac hardens, it is broken up into pieces and sold. About 17,000 to 90,000 lac insects are needed to produce a pound of lac.

Besides shellac, lac is the basic ingredient of an amazing list of articles, stiffening agents in the toes and soles of shoes and felt hats, shoe polishes, artificial fruits, lithographic ink, glazes in confections, photograph records, playing card finishes, and hair dyes.

Skippers are ubiquitous butterflies, but often go unnoticed because they are not showy, and because they hover close to the ground and vegetation rather than soaring in the air. There are literally thousands of different varieties; the one above is a "Peck's Skipper," distinguished by the long yellow dash on the undersurface of its underwing ("to identify Pecks, look for the "x").

As evidenced by their group name, skippers are difficult to photograph because they seldom hold still for the camera. I was lucky to encounter the one above on a chilly morning when he was too torpid to fly away.

More at the link. This article prompted me to go to OpenSecrets.org and look up donations from the Health Care sector to the last group of Presidential candidates. Here are the numbers -TYWKIWDBI has tried to be reasonably nonpartisan in terms of political discussions; if anything, I've been supportive of President Obama (in part because there haven't been any non-wacko alternatives). If you're reading this post and are dismayed that I'm being too critical of Obama by posting this $$ table, please read the post below this (re Bill Moyers' opinion) before commenting...

Bill Moyers - award-winning journalist for 60 years - offers his trenchant insight into Washington politics during a discussion of health care reform:

MOYERS: I don’t think the problem is the Republicans . . . .The problem is the Democratic Party.This is a party that has told its progressives -- who are the most outspoken champions of health care reform -- to sit down and shut up...

Medical marijuana has been technically legal in Colorado since 2000, when residents voted to add Amendment 20 to the state's constitution. The Bush Administration, however, always maintained a rigid stance that federal anti-drug laws took precedence over state rights. Regular DEA raids on medical marijuana distributors in states that legally permit such commerce effectively intimidated citizens who would have otherwise officially registered as patients or caregivers.

At the beginning of this year, only 2000 people had applied for Colorado's Medical Marijuana Registry since the system was established on 2001. In the past six months, the registry has grown to nearly 10,000...

Most of the farmers Kathleen works with have been cultivating their product illegally for many years--the oldest has been in the illicit business for 35, more than half have grown marijuana for over two decades. Now that they sell their product to a legal commercial enterprise, weed farmers will have to register their income and pay taxes on it, just like anyone growing tomatoes or tobacco...

You'd never guess. An article at the New York Times today discusses the traditional way to store berries without having them turn moldy (dry them and refrigerate them), and then explains that extreme heat can also be useful...

I gathered a dozen or so reports that hot-water treatments suppress mold growth on berries, grapes and stone fruits. The test temperatures ranged from 113 to 145 degrees, with exposure times of a few minutes at the lower temperatures, and 12 seconds at the highest.

These are clearly not "suicides." The most reasonable explanation is that people or dogs/critters are spooking the cows and causing them to tumble over the cliffs.

Blogged because the event nicely illustrates one way ancient man obtained fresh meat. Archaic hunters, equipped with stone-tipped projectiles, were capable of killing deer and bison - but a much more efficient method involved driving herd animals toward a precipice. One such "bison kill site" is located in northern Minnesota at Itasca State Park. Details about the studies of that site are at this link.

Addendum: Vivi has provided a link to the more famous (and much more visually dramatic) Head-Smashed-In bison kill site in Alberta, Canada. The brief promotional video below shows the impressive cliff where the kills occurred...

Kernels on a cob of corn, showing an interesting phyllotactic defect where regular columns of kernels suddenly make a checkerboard pattern and then revert to columns again.

Yesterday we got our first fresh sweet corn from the local farmers' market, and like the one illustrated above, it was the bicolor variety, which we favor.

As soon as corn is picked from the stalk, the natural sugars begin to convert to starch, so people who buy days-old corn from grocery store bins never learn how great it can taste. You should buy it from a farmer who has picked it that morning; even better is to pick it yourself in the field and run (don't walk) with it to the kitchen where you have the water already boiling or the microwave already preset.

When I was in high school my second paid summer job (after a diastrous effort to sell woolen clothes door-to-door in July) was at the Green Giant packing plant in Le Sueur, Minnesota, where I lubricated the cookers and watched the line for dented cans coming out of the canning machine. We worked 12-hour shifts at minimum wage (and no work/no pay on rainy days if the trucks couldn't get into the field), but once a week they would bring a truckload of corn, dump it into garbage cans into which steam was fed, and provided tubs of butter...

Rijksmuseum spokeswoman Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation that proved the piece was a fake, said the museum would keep it anyway as a curiosity...

The museum acquired the rock after the death of former Prime Minister Willem Drees in 1988. Drees received it as a private gift on Oct. 9, 1969 from then-U.S. Ambassador J. William Middendorf during a visit by the three Apollo 11 astronauts, part of their "Giant Leap" goodwill tour after the first moon landing.

Middendorf, who lives in Rhode Island, told Dutch broadcaster NOS news that he had gotten it from the U.S. State Department, but couldn't recall the details...

Researchers from Amsterdam's Free University said they could see at a glance that the rock was probably not from the moon. They followed the initial appraisal up with extensive testing.

Of immediate concern was the possibility that the deformities were being caused by a water contaminant that could affect other species, including humans. By the spring of 1997, several federal agencies and a number of academic researchers were working on the problem...

Now research on frogs with missing legs in England and Oregon — undertaken independently but arriving at identical conclusions — has found a common cause of missing legs in frogs.

"They gain confidence by learning more about them, what they are likely to own and when they are likely to be out of the house.

"I call it 'internet shopping for burglars'. It is incredibly easy to use social neyworking sites to target people, and then scope out more information on their actual home using other internet sites like Google Street View, all from the comfort of the sofa."

Known for their wide variety of vibrant plumage, birds have evolved various chemical and physical mechanisms to produce these beautiful colors over millions of years. A team of paleontologists and ornithologists led by Yale University has now discovered evidence of vivid iridescent colors in feather fossils more than 40 million years old.

"Of course, the 'Holy Grail' in this program is reconstructing the colors of the feathered dinosaurs," said Yale graduate student and lead author Jakob Vinther. "We are working hard to determine if this will be possible."

More at the link, and prior work on this matter at this link. The photo is certainly of a modern feather or is digitally-altered for purposes of illustration. I'm impressed by the fineness of the clay/sediment in which the fossil feathers were preserved if it was able to preserve structures at the subcellular level.

Earlier this week, when I posted an item expressing my dismay and disapproval of most "modern art," I was (politely) taken to task by some readers for being so blind to the varieties and innovative aspects of art, and for "failing to take it on its own terms."

I'm a quick learner. Today I encountered the pictures above in a gallery of seventeen photos of groomed poodles. I had intended to blog the item as a ridiculous display of garish monstrosities that is utterly demeaning to the intrinsic beauty of these noble creatures.

But I didn't do that. I read the article. And discovered that this is... wait for it... ART!!

Amazingly it takes just two hours for the creative groomers to carve their masterpieces of out of dog's coats and add props as finishing touches...

The artistic owners - almost entirely women - colour their beloved dogs with powdered paint sprayed on using blow pens which is non permanent...

"I think these girls must just love the artistry that's involved."

These are masterpieces, commissioned by "artistic owners." I'm learning. I should also have blogged Paris Hilton's $300K doghouse as another artistic accomplishment rather than retching and passing on the item.

I'm learning. Just look at that adorable #3 above - she even has little butterflies hovering around her butt. Isn't that just precious? (Last week I would have missed the finer points of this artwork.)

There are many more at this link. Of the ones listed above, I believe "mad money", "dogs," and "plastered" have endured to the present; a few others (grubstake, cat's pajamas) are familiar to those who watch vintage movies.

Police in the U.K. have begun a program to "teach careless people a lesson." When they encounter a vehicle that is unlocked with the windows down and valuable items in obvious view, they are authorized to take the material (to the police station), and leave a cautionary and explanatory note for the driver.

It's standard in United States law.In the ordinary case (with a non-police officer), there is a serious question whether the defendant is being truthful.In the United States, there are other protections against such police conduct, such as the fourth amendment's ban on searches and seizures without a warrant or the applicability of an exception to the warrant requirement, such as a seizure of contraband in connection with an arrest.

The language exists in Florida statutes and, I suspect, most common law jurisdictions.It makes theft a specific intent crime requiring the perp's intent to be proven as an element of the crime.

I suppose that is why many states have a joyriding statute to cover juveniles who take a car, but do not intend to keep it (do not intend to permanently deprive the owner of the property) in addition to the auto theft statutes.

I believe the officers could be charged with breaking and entering.They would have no right to enter the vehicle and seize property which is not related to a crime.(although many B&E statutes also require intent to commit a crime.I suppose the underlying crime could be trespass.)

The police conduct is unacceptable.I can't believe there is not a better means of educating the public to the hazards they face than to expose them to additional hazard by police officers.

Several weeks ago I blogged a startling photograph of the Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko. Curious about the photographer and his work, I requested the book from our library. The Smaller Majority is a 300-page "coffee table" photo book detailing Piotr Naskrecki's life work of capturing images of the small creatures of savannas, deserts, and tropical forests. Unlike many similar books, this one has not only gorgeous images but also intelligent and interesting text.

Examples of "TYWK"-type information include these two tidbits -1) Butterflies that "puddle" at muddy spots or collections of animal dung are seeking sodium, which is rarely found in plants (potassium is the principal cation in vegetation). "In extreme cases a moth may imbibe an amount of fluid 600 times its own weight in a single puddling session, expelling the excess water as it drinks and retaining only the precious [sodium]."2) Ant lions (larvae of owl flies) catch and consume insects, but they "are missing two elements of the body that seem to be absolutely critical for any predator: the mouth and the anus."

The lower photo above is a pupa of an "unidentified Yponomentidae." The mesh-like cocoon that enfolds it is just awesome. There are lots of other pix like this in the book - mostly frogs, cockroaches, ants, spiders, mantids, katydids - things like that. You can see a small sample at his Flickr photostream.

25 August 2009

In an article at Slate today (with an accompanying video), current European "urban" bikes are reviewed, emphasizing the practical aspects of their upright posture, fenders, and chain guards. What most interested me was this comment:

The 2004 CIA inspector general’s report on torture says clearly that in 2002, the CIA proposed to the Justice Department the use of eleven “enhanced interrogation techniques"...

These techniques are, [sic] the attention grasp, walling, the facial hold, the facial slap (insult slap), the abdominal slap, cramped confinement, wall standing, stress positions, sleep deprivation beyond 72 hours, the use of diapers for prolonged periods, the use of harmless insects, the water board, and such techniques as may be specifically approved pursuant to paragraph 4 below...

Her parents support her in this decision, which would break the world record for the youngest person to accomplish such a feat (current record by a 17-year-old). She would need to miss two years of school, and she would sail without any support vessels beside/behind her. The Dutch public is reportedly split on this issue; many support her, while others consider it too dangerous and equivalent to child neglect.

TYWKIWDBI won't take any stand on this girl's situation, but the story reminded me of an item I read in my high school's alumni bulletin, regarding a young girl whom I'll just identify with initials here: "C--- K--- '15... won the 2009... Skating Competition. In her long program, K--- successfully landed seven double jumps, including a double-lutz, double-toe loop combination jump."

If she's in the class of 2015, she would also be 12-13 years old. For comparison, Dorothy Hamill and Peggy Fleming won Olympic figure skating gold medals without doing any double jumps. Now a 13-year-old does seven double jumps for just a regional competition. I'm sure the analogy could be extended to many other sports.

24 August 2009

A dancer waited to perform during festivities marking the start of the annual harvest festival of “Onam” in Kochi, India, Sunday. The festival symbolizes the return of mythical King Mahabali to meet his beloved subjects. (Sivaram V./Reuters)

“The notion that corporations have the same speech rights as people under our Bill of Rights is contrary to the words, history, spirit and intent of our Constitution,” said Clements. “The organizations that joined to bring these arguments to the Court have worked with others for many years to empower democratic self-government. They remind us that corporations do not vote, speak, or act as people do, but are products of government policy to achieve economic and charitable ends. As such, corporations need not be allowed to influence our elections if Congress and State governments judge that such influence is detrimental to democracy.”

The brief filed by Democracy Unlimited argues that corporations are legal entities created by state or federal law for economic, charitable or other purposes, and were never intended to be included within the Constitution’s Bill of Rights...

"A view of the Credito Emiliano bank temperature-controlled vault stacked with aging Parmesan cheese in Montecavolo, near Reggio Emilia, Italy, Thursday Aug. 20, 2009. Row upon row of 39-kilogram (85-pound) wheels of straw-colored Parmesan cheese, stacked some 10 meters (33 feet) high at a secure warehouse, age for as many as two years under the care of bank employees trained in the centuries-old art of Parmesan making. Parmesan producers to pump cash into their business by using their product as collateral while it is otherwise sitting on a shelf for the long aging process. While the mechanism was not born out of the current economic crisis, dating rather from Italy's post-World War II years, producers say it is ever more important because it ensures that credit keeps flowing during otherwise tight times."

The butter bell is a small crock with a bell-shaped lid. You add some cool water to the bottom of the crock, then put your butter in the bell, turn it upside down and place it into the crock. The water forms a seal around the exposed butter to keep bacteria, insects, dust, and odors out. And you can forget ever putting cold butter in the microwave again, which leaves you with butter that’s more pourable than spreadable...

What interested me today was the bottom photo of the ?chrysanthemum. Presuming it hasn't been artificially fiddled with, it apparently represents some type of accidental hybrid, or a defect of some coloration gene occurring during development. The photo was at Pixdaus without a link, and I haven't found the photo elsewhere using the TinEye reverse image search.

The mum photo reminded me of the "gynandromorph" phenomenon (half female/half male). It's well known (though still rare) in butterflies, especially where the male and females have different coloration patterns, as in the tiger swallowtail at the top. The phenomenon is also evident in the Chesapeake Bay crab in the next photo and the cardinal below that.

Addendum: Dr. Mieke found the link for the chrysanthemum, which is, indeed, a genetic mutation. In her comment is a link for how you can do this artificially, for fun.

Addendum #2: See the comments by anonymous re the relationship (or not) of gynandromorphs to hermaphrodites and chimeras.

"Tai-wiki-widbee" is an eclectic mix of trivialities, ephemera, curiosities, and exotica with a smattering of current events, social commentary, science, history, English language and literature, videos, and humor. We try to be the cyberequivalent of a Victorian cabinet of curiosities.

The 2008 Weblog Awards

Category: Best New Blog

Translate

Search TYWKIWDBI

About Me

I'm using an old photo of my grandfather as an avatar; he would have been amused.
Readers - especially old friends, classmates, students, former colleagues, and long-lost relatives - are welcome to email me via retag4726 (at) mypacks.net